


Zoey's Extraordinary Season Two

by typicalaveragefangirl



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Love Triangles, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:48:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24219157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/typicalaveragefangirl/pseuds/typicalaveragefangirl
Summary: This is my take on what might happen if Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist gets picked up for a second season!It will be 12 chapters to follow the 12 episode format.
Relationships: Zoey Clarke & Max Richman, Zoey Clarke/Max Richman, Zoey Clarke/Simon Haynes
Comments: 62
Kudos: 77





	1. Zoey's Ordinary Day

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter doesn't have a heartsong, but the end is VERY LOOSELY based on Car Radio by Twenty-One Pilots.

Zoey stepped into the lobby of SPRQ Point for the first time in nearly two weeks and took a deep breath, trying not to flashback to the day her powers glitched and she sang Crazy. Her anxiety about being back in the office for the first time following her father’s death was high enough without reliving the memory of that day. She got on the elevator, happy no one joined her so she could have one more moment alone.

She knew she had to get back into a routine—she thrived with a routine—but it was harder than she thought it was going to be to face this day. Joan was busier than ever running SPRQ Point, and she knew she had to step up… but lately she had found it overwhelming to make a piece of toast for breakfast, let alone get through an entire day without breaking down at her desk.

The elevator dinged and she took one last deep breath, stepping off to be instantly met by Tobin and Leif. “Welcome back Zo-Dawg!” Tobin said, giving her a softer smile than she was used to. “Good morning?” she responded, in the form of a question, unsure how to handle the smiles on both of their faces. She hadn’t known what to expect on her first day back, but this certainly wasn’t it. “Joan is in Dubai today, so she asked us to be your welcoming committee,” Leif offered when he saw her face.

Zoey walked slowly to her desk, the two minions following closely behind. The second she sat down, they both launched into a detailed account of everything that had happened while she was out, where they stood on the Chirp project, and next steps their team was taking. Zoey had expected to be overwhelmed today, but she had assumed it would be because of all the work she was trying to catch up on, not because of the kindness of two people she had essentially hated a year ago.

“You guys really did all of this for me?” she asked. “No, we did it because we’ve got a 12 step plan to take over this place,” Leif said, high-fiving Tobin. Zoey was almost as thankful for the joke as she was for all of the work they had done; she knew she was on the edge of crying, and she wasn’t sure she would ever recover if Leif and Tobin knew they were the reason for her tears.

She cleared her throat and her mind. “So, that’s it? There’s, uh, I don’t have anything I need to catch up on?” she asked them. “There’s actually one more thing,” Tobin said, spinning his chair and pushing off with his feet to get back to his desk. “Joan had a meeting with all of us before she left, and made us come up with something that might help you through your first week back and my guy SiSi told us about your grief basket concept, so we all made you one.”

Tobin skipped back to her desk, placing a small basket down. Zoey took a moment to look through it. Kleenex, sour gummy worms, her favorite flavor of lemonade monster. A fidget spinner and tension ball like Max used to keep at his desk. There was a bag of her favorite coffee from Golden Gate Grind, and there was a bag of chocolates. Zoey saw a card with her name written on it in Joan’s handwriting. Inside was the key to the liquor cabinet in her office and ten small words: “In case you need a day drink or six today.”

The last thing she saw was a pair of sunglasses. She took them out of the basket. “Sunglasses?” she questioned. “Do you remember that company picnic they had shortly after we all started here? When we all brought our families?” Tobin asked. Zoey nodded. “Well, that day I was checking out Janey Nells—do you remember her? Total baaaaaabe. Anyway, I was right by the lemonade stand and your dad saw me do it while he was grabbing another drink. Normally I would’ve just ignored it, but something in his eyes made me feel like he could ground me and damn me to hell all in one quick glance? But in a way that said he wasn’t mad, just disappointed?” Tobin said. “Anyway… I told him that I liked her sunglasses and that’s what I was looking at. I’m sure he didn’t believe me, but I stalked her on the ‘gram and bought those glasses the next day in case he ever showed up again so I could back my story up. I thought you should have them.”

Zoey lost all hope of not crying in front of her coworkers the minute Tobin said the word “Dad.” “Thank you Tobin,” was all she could choke out. “We’re really sorry for your loss,” Leif said, and they both walked away and began typing on their computers, leaving her alone to try and stop crying.

Even with all of the work they had done to help her, Zoey still had hundreds of emails to look through and a few things she had to do today in order to get back on track. The next time she remembered looking up from her desk, most of her coworkers had gone home for the night. She picked up her phone and saw she had 9 missed text messages—one from her mom, one from David, and seven from Max.

From: Maxie. 9:03 am. “Fuck. I meant to set an alarm to text you before you went back to work… I’m a bad best friend. Sorrrrrry! Hope it’s going alright.”

From: Mama. 10:53 am. “Hi Sweetie, I hope your first day back is going well. I love you!”

From: Maxie. 10:54 am. “Do you want to grab lunch in a bit to get out of the office?”

From: Maxie. 12:02 pm. “I am happy to wait… but uh, how long will I be waiting? I found this new pho place I want to try.”

From: Maxie. 12:46 pm. “I am sorry, again, (bad friend) but this pho place is AMAZING.”

From: Maxie. 12:48 pm. “I can drop something off at the office that will not be named if you want. Let me know in the next 10 minutes! Or, I guess.. Just let me know. I am currently unemployed so I could hypothetically stay here all day. Maybe I will stay here all day.”

From: David. 1:32 pm. “I’ve been back defending the public for a week, but our mother would like me to check in to make sure you are doing okay at work. Are you doing okay?”

From: Maxie. 4:32 pm. “Hello?”

From: Maxie. 5:07 pm. “I am going to take this silence as a sign you are busy killing the Chirp game. Let me know if you need anything, otherwise I will let you be!”

She smiled. Max had made it his personal objective to make sure Zoey remained fed over the past couple of weeks. Dropping off fast food on his way to an interview, inviting her over when he made his famous Matzah Soup, texting Mo to remind him to bring snacks over if Max himself couldn't. Zoey had just finished texting back her mom, brother, and Max when Simon cleared his voice, “Hey there.”

“Simon..” Zoey said with a sad, forced smile as he put a duffle bag down on her desk. “What is this?” she asked. “Your very own grief duffle as promised!” he responded. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you on your first day back and you seemed busy today, but I just wanted to check in and see how it went?” “I just assumed you picked something for this one,” Zoey said, pointing to her grief basket from Tobin and Leif.

She knew she was avoiding his question, but she didn’t know how to answer. The truth was that today was the first time she had focused on anything but her dad for weeks, and it was a nice change of pace. But saying that out loud seemed like betraying him. “I’ve had my grief duffle planned long before Tobes approached me, but I figured two couldn’t hurt,” he said and then was quiet, waiting.

Zoey took a deep breath and closed her laptop. “Two definitely didn’t hurt,” she said, looking through the contents and pulling out a bottle of Patron. “Okay, this just makes me feel bad. I get you Jose Cuervo and you respond with Patron? You’re a top-notch guy, Simon, ” Zoey said. “Also, _Tobes_?” “He insists on nicknames,” Simon said. “He calls me ‘SiSi’”

Zoey knows he’s waiting for her to answer the real question he asked. “My day was alright,” she started slowly. “It was weird to be back, but also good to get some structure in my day again. But everything without my dad just seems so… ordinary.” Simon gave her a sad smile, and crossed the space to give her a quick hug as they got up to leave. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Simon and Zoey walked out to their cars and said goodnight. She sat in her car and watched him go. Then she sat and watched a few more cars drive down the road. She sat in the silence for what could have easily been a few minutes or a few hours, unable to get herself to turn over her car key. The silence felt like violence. It had been so long since she had heard anybody sing a heartsong, she was beginning to wonder if her power had died right along with her dad.


	2. Max's Extraordinary New Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max gets a new job and Clarkeman go out to celebrate, but things don't quite go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: Hesitate by the Jonas Brothers.

There was a knock on Zoey’s door on Sunday evening. She’d had a long first week back at work, and she had been lying low for the weekend trying to recharge before heading back in the morning. When she opened the door, Max had a smile on his face and his arms were full with pizza and beer. “I figured your low-key weekend meant you hadn’t had a meal that wasn’t made in a microwave for the last three days, so I came bearing gifts.”

Zoey stepped aside with a grin Max knew well enough to know it wasn’t completely genuine. “So, I have some news,” he said after they settled into the couch with their plates. He tried not to think about the last time he was on that couch. He had pretty much avoided her apartment over the past few weeks, not wanting to be the reason Zoey thought about that night. “What’s that?” Zoey asked, mouth full of pizza.

“I got offered a job with the Golden State Warriors!” Max said with a smile. Zoey’s face echoed his, this time completely authentic. “Max!! That’s amazing,” she squealed. “Congratulations!” Before Max could even start to tell her what the job was, Zoey said, “Wait, the Warriors? What are you going to do? Play basketball?” They both laughed.

Max explained that he was hired to manage their website development team, and that his first main project was going to be spearheading a project to develop a new website that archives all of the stats for all of the players who’d ever played for the team. They needed the site done quickly, so he was starting tomorrow already. “I’m honestly a bit terrified to tell my parents,” he said. “I think they’ll take it as another failure on my part that I’m not working for the Knicks.”

“Max, that is so great,” Zoey said honestly. “We should go to Nido tomorrow to celebrate your first day!” Nido, a Mexican farm-to-table restaurant across the Bay in Oakland, was one of Max’s favorites, but Zoey knew he didn’t go often since it was a bit out of the way. “I didn’t think you’d be up for going out,” Max said. “What if we just have a movie night to celebrate instead? We haven’t had a movie night for awhile and it might help take your mind off everything.”

“Max, that is very sweet…” Zoey started. “But it’s not every day you get a fancy new job! I don’t want to take my mind off of that.” “Well, if you’re sure you are up for it, Nido sounds great!” he said. “Max my Dad would be so proud of you. And he would be so disappointed in me if he knew that he was the reason I didn’t help you celebrate this accomplishment.”

Max gave her a soft smile. Man, he missed Mitch. He knew it was nothing like what Zoey was going through, but he also knew that she wasn’t embellishing when she said Mitch would’ve been proud of him. Over the last five years, Max had spent far more time with Mitch than his own father, and he gave himself a minute to miss the man who had raised his incredible best friend.

* * *

Max drove straight from his first day of work to Zoey’s apartment to pick her up for dinner. She came down a few minutes after he text that he was double parked in front of her building, dressed in a classy navy dress. She looked incredible. So incredible that he had to pull his eyes off of her, reminding himself again and again not to feel too many feelings, trying to avoid singing his feelings for her and pushing her to deal with anything before she was ready. He had told her to focus on her, and he intended to honor that, even if it meant keeping his mind blank any time he was around her.

“Look at you, Mr. Fancy Pants!” She said as a way of greeting as she climbed into the front seat. Max was wearing the suit he’d worn to Simon and Jessica’s engagement party for the “first day of work” photo that was going to be on his ID badge for, hopefully, the next several years. “Mo has me doubting all of the clothes in my closet that he hasn’t personally approved of already, so decided to play it safe with something I knew he’d approve.”

Max started the drive to Oakland, and they made easy conversation the way only friends who had been friends for so long could. The radio was playing softly in the background, and he began to tell Zoey about his first day. The people he worked with, his new office, everything he’d already learned. “I think I’m really going to like it,” he said. “But it’s not like when I moved up to the sixth floor… this time I’m really working somewhere you aren’t for the first time in five year and that was, uh, pretty weird.” “So you didn’t find my replacement?” she asked, smirking over at him. “Nobody could replace you, Zo. You know that!”

As they approached Nido, Max physically felt Zoey stiffen in the seat next to him. He glanced over at her and saw how all of the color had left her cheeks. The circles that had been under her eyes for the last month suddenly looked darker. “Zo?” She tried to shake it off and smile at him, but started crying instead. She quickly reached forward and shut the radio off as if she didn’t have another option. Max pulled over and then turned the car around.

“Max, where are you going?” She finally asked. “You don’t have to sing your feelings for me to tell something is up," he said. "I am going to the liquor store, buying a few bottles of wine, and we are going to celebrate my first day Zax style on your couch.” “Zax?” Zoey questioned. “Zoey and Max. We’re Zax!”

Soon enough, they were back at her apartment and on the couch, wine glasses in hand. Zoey tried to focus on Max, but couldn’t keep her mind from replaying what she’d heard on the radio. “Do you want to talk about it?” Max asked. He didn’t want to pressure her, but wanted to be there if she needed him, too. “I uh, I heard True Colors come on the radio, and. um.. That was the first heartsong my dad ever sang to me,” she said finally.

Max didn’t say anything, but he set down his glass and pulled her into his chest and hugged her tightly. He held her as she cried, and she had only a second to think about how shitty she was doing at celebrating his new job before he started singing.

_**Kiss the tears right off your face** _

_**Won’t get scared, that’s the old, old, old me.** _

_**I’ll be there, time and place** _

_**Lay it on me, all that you’re hold, hold, holding.** _

Max was singing so softly; she couldn’t quite hear the background music like usual and it made her question if this was a heart song or just a song from his heart.

_**Time, time only heals if we work through it now** _

_**And I promise we’ll figure this out** _

_**I will take your pain and put it on my heart I** _

_**won’t hesitate, just tell me where to start.** _

_**I thank the oceans for giving me you** _

_**Y** _ _**ou saved me once and now I’ll save you too.** _

_**I won’t hesitate for you.** _

Zoey tried to make a joke about how much Max seems to love the Jonas Brothers, but couldn't do anything but focus on breathing in and breathing out. “Zo, I need you to know that no matter what, above all, I am here to lessen your pain in any way that I can,” Max said just above a whisper. “I’m on your side. Always.”


	3. Zoey's Extraordinary Nephew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Emily have their baby!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: Ben by Michael Jackson

“Uh, Hi Maggie,” Max said as he picked up his phone, hoping his new boss wouldn’t come knocking; he was still trying to get used to some of the dynamics at his new job. “Is everything okay?” “Max, thank goodness you answered,” Maggie said out of breath. “Emily is in labor and I’ve been trying to call Zoey for an hour but she won’t pick up. Do you have the number of anybody at SPRQ Point?”

Max still had Joan’s, Leif’s, and even Simon’s numbers saved in his phone, but there was no way that he was going to let them tell Zoey that she was going to be an Aunt. “My new office isn’t far,” he answered, “I’ll go pick her up. Are you guys at St. Francis or General?” “St. Francis!” Maggie answered, sounding relieved. “Labor and Delivery is on the third floor.” “Auntie Zoey will be there in 20,” Max said. He hung up the phone, and tried to find the right words to explain to his new boss that his best friend’s brother’s wife was in labor so he had to leave as he walked down the hall.

* * *

When he got to SPRQ Point, he had a small knot in the pit of his stomach that he didn’t expect. He had tried to avoid going anywhere near the office since he got fired, but that plan went out the door the moment Maggie had called him. You need an active SPRQ Point badge to get in the front door, but luckily somebody else was walking in right ahead of Max and held the door open for him. He recognized Wyatt, from accounting, but doubted that Wyatt remembered him.

He stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor and walked to Zoey’s desk, sure that muscle memory would’ve gotten him there even if he had tried to run away. He could make that walk with his eyes closed. For the first time since starting his new job, he wished for just a moment that he would’ve accepted Zoey’s offer of taking his old job back. He stopped at her desk and looked down at her with a smile on his face.

It took her a moment to stop writing code, which he assumed was for the Chirp, and look up at him. “Max?” she said, puzzlement spreading over her entire face. “What on earth are you doing here?” Nobody else looked up from their desks, even with Zoey’s not-so-quiet questioning. “”I am just going to go ahead and ignore that lovely warm welcome I got when I show up at the place I was just fired from, because I am here to collect you and your things and bring them to the hospital,” Max said.

“Am I… sick?” Zoey asked, looking at him. “No, but I am fairly certain that you will be if you don’t get your shit, and follow me so that you do not miss the birth of your nephew,” Max responded, unable to keep a smile off of his face. Max was used to Zoey being a little frantic by this point in their friendship, but he had never seen her act so quickly. She looked from him to her phone where she clearly saw all of the missed calls from her family, and then sprung up from her chair. She ran around the office, first handing out assignments to all of the people on her team for the rest of the day and then finding Simon and Joan to tell them she had to leave.

* * *

“Can you drive annnnny sllooooooweeerrrrrrrrr,” Zoey asked for about the fifth time in the last 10 minutes. “We are almost there,” Max said patiently. “But just a friendly reminder that you would still be at work if it weren’t for me.” A few minutes later, Max pulled up next to the hospital and put his car in park. “Make sure to text me updates when you have them!” he said. “Max, pull into that parking spot up there,” Zoey said. “My mom will want to thank you for saving the day. You have to come in and say hi!”

Max didn’t want to overstep on family time, but he couldn’t say no. He followed Zoey up to the waiting room. Maggie saw them instantly and ran over to hug them both. “I’m sorry I didn’t see your calls,” Zoey said in a way greeting her mom. “Not a problem, honey,” Maggie responded. “I knew Max would pull through!” “Happy to help!” Max said, smiling, “But I better get headed back to work.”

Maggie and Zoey’s faces fell at the same time. “Oh that’s such a bummer,” Maggie said. “I wish you could stay, but are they treating you well over there?” Max felt guilty lying to the Clarkes. When he had talked to his new boss, she was more than understanding and told him not to worry about making it back that afternoon. “I like it a lot so far,” he said instead. “You sure there’s no way you can stay?” Zoey asked, looking up at him.

Max was having an internal debate with himself when David said, “Max, man, you’ve got to find a way to stay! The kiddo is going to want to meet his Uncle Maxie.” He was walking across the waiting room. When he saw Maggie’s eyes light up, he quickly added “No news yet! Emily just threatened her doctor into agreeing to okay her to have a popsicle, so I’m off to the cafeteria to find one before the labor progresses too far for her to have even that. Not a big fan of ice chips, my beautiful blushing bride.” “You can’t argue with the Dad-to-be,” Zoey said with a smirk. Max just nodded, happy to see all three of them smiling after all the frowns he’d seen recently and muttered, “I’ll go call my boss.”

* * *

Max, Zoey, and Maggie spend the afternoon in the waiting room, occasionally getting updates from David as he went back and forth between them and Emily’s room. While spirits were mostly high with excitement in the air, it was clear they were all missing Mitch, too. Maggie paced in front of their chairs when David waited too long between updates. Zoey loosened and tightened a screw on the end table time and again. Max tried to feel like he wasn’t intruding.

Zoey was busy playing with the screw when she heard the sound of guitar. She looked from Max to her mom and noticed that neither of them seemed to hear anything. A few seconds later, David opened the door to the hall of rooms and started singing.

**_Ben, the two of us need look no more_ **

**_We both found what we were looking for._ **

Maggie rushed over to David the second the door opened. Zoey knew that he was probably telling their mom that his son was born, but in her mind he just put one arm around her and her mom’s shoulders and continued singing.

**_With a friend to call my own_ **

**_I’ll never be alone,_ **

**_and you, my friend, will see you’ve got a friend in me._ **

Max opened the door for the three of them, and smiled at Zoey as he followed them down the hall. They walked into a room and saw Emily holding a small bundle of blankets. David joined his wife and son on the bed, putting his arms around the two of them.

**_I used to say I and me,_ **

**_Now it’s us,_ **

**_Now it’s we._ **

The music faded away, and David took his son from Emily’s arms, walking over to his family and saying “Meet Benjamin Mitchell Clarke.” “Oh, David,” Maggie said, tears filling her eyes instantly. “Your father would be so honored that you named your son after him.” There were tears in David’s eyes, too. “Emily, uh, thought we should name him Mitch, but I didn’t want to be sad every time I looked at my son so we thought this was a good compromise,” he said, handing Ben to his mom.

“He’s beautiful,” Maggie said quietly.

“I think he looks like Dad,” Zoey said a moment later.

“This little guy already has every single one of us wrapped around his little finger,” Max chimed in.

“I’m so glad he’s so cute,” David said with a light chuckle. “I was so worried I was going to think my own kid was one of those ugly newborns.” Everybody laughed at that. “He better be cute for all of those hours of labor,” Emily chimed in. Max crossed over and gave Emily a hug. “You look great, even after all of those hours, Em,” Max said. Zoey smiled thinking about how perfectly Max fit into her family. And then Maggie handed Zoey Ben, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. This was almost as perfect a moment as she could have pictured.


	4. Zoey's Extraordinary Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mo organizes a night out to cheer Zoey up, but it ends in disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: Lean On Me by Bill Withers

Each day that ticked by was one day further from a world without Zoey’s father, and one day closer to her finding a new normal without him. 

Every day, one less person asked her how she was doing; one less person gave her pitying looks as she fixed her mascara in the bathroom mirror after crying; one less person dropped off dinner for her mom. Before she knew it, it had been months since she had last held her father’s hand.

Simon was the one person who continued to show up for her. Always asking how her day went, seeing if she needed anything if he was at the store, keeping tabs on when she needed a new grief duffle. Zoey left a meeting in Joan’s office one Friday afternoon to find Simon and Mo standing by her desk waiting for her. 

“Zoey! Finally!” Mo said as she approached the two of them. “Look, I know you are still mourning, but I’ve decided it’s time for you to have a little fun, too. Take your mind off how sad you’ve been.” “How do you know-” Zoey started, but decided not to finish. It had been a long few weeks and she wasn't as good at hiding her feelings anymore. “Child, please,” Mo responded to the question anyway, “I’ve heard that astronomy podcast you always listen to when you’re bummed every night this week. We’re going out for a drink. Tonight. No excuses!” 

“Well, I’m definitely there!” Simon said. “Somebody very special once reminded me that I wasn’t dishonoring my Dad if I danced a little.” Mo told all of Zoey’s coworkers, even the ones who probably wouldn’t have a clue how to cheer her up, about the night out, and then left in search of the perfect outfit for the night. 

“I’ve been meaning to tell you that David and Emily asked me to pass on their thanks for the flowers and the book you sent Bennie,” Zoey told Simon once Mo was gone. “I hope he likes it,” Simon said. “Do you want to grab a bite to eat after work?” Zoey considered his offer, and decided to take Mo’s advice about trying to do something to help herself. “That sounds great!”

* * *

Simon picked Zoey up at her apartment at 7, and they grabbed a quick dinner before meeting everybody out at Mo’s favorite dive bar, a tiny building situated behind a laundromat that seemed as sketchy as could be from the outside and in, but was actually a pretty decent place to get a drink. Mo said the neon signs lining all of the walls fit his latest instagram theme perfectly. 

When the pair walked in, they immediately saw their party. Mo, Max, Leif, Tobin, a few of the other guys from work, and even Joan were in a corner passing around pitchers of beer that probably cost less than most parking spaces in the city. 

“Max, you came!” Zoey said on approach, giving him a hug and trying to put a smile on her face. Over the last few weeks, she had seen less and less of Max. She knew he’d been extremely busy with his new job, but it still stung how much he’d fallen off her map. “Of course I came!” he said.  Their friendship had always been a give and take; she’d invite him over for movie night and he’d suggest getting a beer after work. Max would recommend they try a new restaurant and Zoey would offer a walk through the park on an especially nice day. Recently, though, Zoey hadn’t really made plans with anybody unless they pushed her. 

And while in the weeks immediately following her father’s death Max had been by her side every time she needed him—even when she didn’t quite know she needed him—recently, he hadn’t been showing up with a bottle of wine or asking what her lunch plans were. Even last week, when he’d dropped off Chinese takeout for her family and they’d invited him in to see how much Ben was growing, he’d made up an excuse about having to get back to work.

Before she could greet anybody else, Zoey heard the unmistakable chords of Lean On Me start playing. Mo walked up and started singing the first verse, 

**_Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow._ **

**_But if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow._ **

Next up, all of the guys on her coding team and Joan started swaying back and forth, each taking the lead on a different line:

** Joan: _Lean on me, when you’re not strong_ **

** Tobin: _And I’ll be your friend_ **

** Leif: _I’ll help you carry on_ **

** All: _For it won’t be long ‘til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on_ **

Even more surprising, Simon and Max each grabbed one of her hands, pulling her to them and duetted the next verse. Zoey couldn’t help but appreciate how good the two of them sounded together; usually there was so much subtle hostility between them, but right now they were both just there for her. 

**_Please, swallow your pride_ **

**_If I have things you need to borrow_ **

**_For no one can fill those of your needs_ **

**_That you won’t let show_ **

Everybody then made a small semi-circle around Zoey and serenaded her with one of the most-needed, most-appreciated heart songs she’d ever heard. 

**_You just call on me sister, when you need a hand_ **

**_We all need somebody to lean on._ **

**_I might just have a problem that you’ll understand_ **

**_We all need somebody to lean on._ **

* * *

While she was hesitant at Mo’s suggestion, as soon as the song was over Zoey knew this night was exactly what she needed. Friends surrounding her, making her feel loved, and plenty of alcohol to go around. 

After a few drinks, Joan approached her and said she needed to head out to catch a flight to Brazil for her next SPRQ Point meeting, though Zoey knew the reason was actually probably because being photographed in this place would add even more bad PR to the mess Danny Michael David had left her with. 

“Thank you for coming, Joan.” Zoey said. “It really has meant a lot to me knowing I can lean on you these last couple of months.” “Do all the leaning you want, just make sure if you move from the leaning drunk stage to the puke stage of drunk, you stay away from my shoes,” she said with a wink and wave before heading out. 

Simon walked up behind Zoey, putting his hand at the small of her back and handing her another Macallan sour. Zoey couldn’t help but notice Max walk to the bar the second he saw Simon by her. A moment later, Simon pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said. 

Simon took the call near the door, but as he was getting ready to hang up, he started heading back inside. As Simon was passing Max, he said “yeah, it was really good to talk to you. See ya later, Jess!” Max had had just enough booze and had seen Simon getting a little too cozy with Zoey a time too many tonight to let it go. “What, are you just like, the worst guy on the planet?” Max said, turning a few heads at the bar and catching Simon’s attention. “Um, excuse me?” 

“Are you really doing the same fucking thing to Zoey that you did to Jessica? And  _ with _ Jessica?” Max asked. Simon tried to respond, but before he could get a response out, Max had punched him square in the eye—the sound of skin on skin echoing across the mostly empty bar. “MAX,” Zoey shouted, quickly running toward them. “What the HELL? You can’t just punch him.” 

By the time she reached them, a cut above Simon’s eye was bleeding and Max was shaking out his hand, clearly in pain from the punch. “Do you know what he was doing just now, Zo?” Max said at an octave higher than normal. “Why he left you alone over there?” 

“Why  _ he _ left me alone?” Zoey retorted, forgetting about the punch and letting the hurt of the past few weeks fuel her words. “From where I’m standing, Max, Simon has been here for me since my dad died and  _ you _ can’t seem to stand the sight of me anymore! I don’t care where he’s been, I care where you’ve been!” Zoey said. She knew she was shouting, and she knew there were tears streaming down her face, but she couldn’t stop herself. 

Max’s face went blank and he exhaled deeply. “Where’s all that ‘whenever you need me’ crap been the past few weeks?” she continued. “I was, uh.. I was just trying to give you some space and time to heal,” he said weakly. He knew she was right; he had been pulling away. 

It wasn’t space Zoey needed. She had needed Max. She had needed her best friend, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that now. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Max said as if he were reading her mind. “It’s fine,” Simon chimed in, the liquor making him a little cockier, a little meaner than he normally would have been, “I was.” 

Max charged at him again, and the two started scuffling like teenagers. Max surprisingly was holding his ground, though Zoey got the feeling Simon was holding back. “Get it out, man,” Simon said with a mean chuckle.

“ENOUGH!” Mo screamed, stepping between the two fighting men and pulling them apart with one swift movement. “This night was meant to cheer Zoey up, not push her poor little grieving heart into organ failure. If you two can’t do that, you should leave.” 

Max stepped back, breathing heavily. He looked so defeated. “You’re right, Mo,” he said, and then turned back toward Zoey. “I’m sorry, Zo. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” he said, turning on his heel and walking out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's been a bit too much fluff in this series so far for the Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist we all know and love. Things had to spice up for a hot second.


	5. Zoey's Extraordinary Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey helps Simon home after his fight with Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: I Just Had Sex by The Lonely Island (spoiler? oops.)

“We should go get your eye cleaned up,” Zoey said to Simon a moment after Max left. After dinner they had dropped his car back off at his place and Lyfted to the bar so they didn’t have to worry about driving that night. “I have a bag of peas at my apartment with my name on them,” he said. “I’ll be fine, Zoey.” 

Max and Simon’s fight had pretty much ended the possibility of staying out any later. “ZoZo Bear,” Tobin said, slapping her on the back like he was her football coach, “this night was tiiiiiiight. Much more fun than I expected. Your boy Mo knows how to throw a night out.” She was surprised when Tobin gave her a quick hug goodbye as he and Leif left, but chalked it up to the shots she’d seen him take. 

Mo, Simon, and Zoey were left standing alone. “So, do you want to ride home with me, orrrr…” Mo said, not even trying to make Zoey feel less awkward. “My best friend punched you in the face several times tonight,” Zoey said, answering Mo’s question to Simon instead. “You have to let me help you get home safe.”

* * *

Zoey lightly dabbed a washcloth along the cut above Simon’s right eye when they got back to his apartment; she pretended not to notice him wincing. The adrenaline had worn off on their ride back home, and she was exhausted both physically and emotionally. 

“Uh, can I ask you a question?” Zoey asked finally. “Anything,” Simon said. “What did, uh.. What did Max mean when he asked if I knew what you were doing when you took that call earlier?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even and not anticipate the worst case scenario. 

“Oh, that,” Simon said. “Yeah, umm, I think… I was talking to Jessica, and I think he heard me say her name.” Zoey tried not to jump to conclusions; she had told Simon not to be jealous of Max and she was trying to practice what she preached—although Simon probably had reason to be a little bit jealous since she had kissed Max later that night. 

When Zoey didn’t respond, Simon kept talking. “Yeah, so I don’t really blame him for the whole fight thing. He thought I was doing something that was going to hurt you and I would probably have done the same thing if I thought someone was hurting my younger sister.” Zoey didn’t know what to say, but she did know that Max wasn’t protecting her in the same way David would. 

Finally she asked, “Do I need to be worried about you talking to Jessica?” “No,” Simon answered without hesitation. “No. No no no no no. Absolutely not. Jessica was part of my life for a long time and that isn’t going to end just because we weren’t good for each other, but this call was literally just her asking what I thought she should do with an ice cream maker that one of her aunts who clearly hadn’t heard that the wedding was off had sent her addressed to us.”

Zoey laughed, partly because she was still uncomfortable talking about his cancelled wedding and partly because this entire night had been like something in a dramatic television show. “You are who I want to be with Zoey,” he said. And then he leaned down and kissed her. 

* * *

**_I just had seeeaayeeeex,_ **

**_And I’ll never go back to the not havin’ sex ways of the past_ **

Simon sang, jumping up from the bed and reaching his hand out as if he were in a broadway production of The Lonely Island’s most popular discography.

**_Have you ever had sex? I have, it felt great_ **

**_It felt so good when I did it with my penis_ **

**_A girl let me do it, it literally just happened_ **

Zoey couldn’t help but laugh. Usually Simon was so reserved. This was not the same Simon who’d sung Mad World the first night she’d been in this very apartment. As Simon continued singing, though, her mind started to drift. 

And suddenly when she closed her eyes all she could see was Max. Max, singing her  _ that _ John Legend song that night she’d kissed him. Max, singing “I know you want me, I know I wantcha” when she’d asked for something sexier, dirtier. Max. 

She scrambled up and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She slid down against the door and tears started running down her face. Before her dad’s diagnosis, Zoey hadn’t been much of a crier; now, though, she couldn't seem to stop. 

Her movement must’ve knocked sex from Simon’s mind, because he stopped singing and said “Zoey? Are you okay?” “Um, yeah!” she said as steadily as she could. “If women don’t pee after sex they are 39% more likely to get a UTI and the one UTI I had a few years ago was the WORST. Did you know-” Zoey started listing fact after fact about UTIs and the bacteria the grows in the reproductive systems off. She knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t stop. 

The rambling UTI facts almost distracted her mind from racing—flashing between _that_ night and this one. What happened with Max and what happened after. What Simon said about Max acting like her brother, and how far from the truth that was. How glad she was that was far from the truth. How she hadn’t even told Simon about her and Max’s kiss. Or rather, kisses. How she hadn’t told Simon about, well, anything. 

She knew she needed to tell him about her powers, but thinking about her powers just reminded her of The Lonely Island. " _ The Lonely Island _ ?" she whispered. Zoey got up and jumped around for a minute, letting the nervous energy leave her body. She splashed some water on her face, and then went to the bathroom—she wasn’t kidding about those UTI stats—and walked back out to Simon’s bedroom. 

“You sure you’re good?” he asked when he saw her. She just nodded. “Good, so I’d love it if you’d stay over,” he said. “It’s already late and I have an extra toothbrush you can use and...” “Yeah,” Zoey interrupted, “I’ll stay.” They got ready for bed, and then settled in. Where the sex had been hot and passionate, this somehow felt more intimate. Their bodies didn’t quite know how to fit together, and she still couldn’t get her mind to shut off.

* * *

When Zoey woke up Simon was gone and there was a path of rose petals leading out of the bedroom. She groggily walked out, and saw Simon had transformed his living room into a room of roses. She tried not to think about the rose wall she’d ruined at his engagement party. 

In the middle, there was a blanket with a big breakfast waiting for her and he was there, down on one knee. She tilted her head, “uhhhh, what are you doing?” Simon pulled out a ring pop and said, “Zoey Clarke, when I said I go big or go home I meant it. Will you please do me the pleasure of being my girlfriend?"

The first thought that came to her mind was Max’s voice calling her past relationships “unnecessarily complicated, exhausting for everybody, the opposite of good.” Simon clearly sensed her hesitation, and crossed the room to stand next to her. “I’m not saying this has to change anything. You still have to grieve for your dad, and I am still going to be here with bigger, better grief baskets. Hell, I’m still working through my own grief! I just don’t want to go another day without calling you my girlfriend. 

Zoey was grateful that Simon thought her hesitation was dad-related, which quickly reminded her how great Simon had been the past few months. He really had been there for her and understood in a way that few people did. She narrowed her eyes on the ringpop. “What flavor is that?” She asked, a smile starting to form. “Cherry, of course,” he said. Zoey held out her hand, gesturing for Simon to put the ringpop on her hand. “So that’s a yes?” He asked. “That’s a yes.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T HATE ME. I am a Clarkeman shipper through and through, and this is still going to be a Clarkeman fic in the end, but as Skylar Astin once said, "You can't have that 'it's always been you' Rachel and Ross moment if they get together right away."


	6. Mitch's Extraordinary Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey faces Mitch's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: No Judgement by Niall Horan

Zoey woke up early despite not falling asleep until late and tossing all night. She took a deep breath and got up; it was the Monday following her crazy weekend and she decided to take the day off. She didn’t know how she was going to face this day—her father’s first birthday since his death—but she knew doing it from bed wasn’t an option. 

She took a quick shower, and dressed in a sweatshirt, leggings, and a baseball hat. It was foggy and there was some rain in the forecast, so she grabbed her raincoat as she walked out the door. Zoey was secretly glad the weather was so glum; it’s not that it was odd for San Francisco to have a rainy day, but the sun shining today would’ve felt like an extra punch in the gut. 

She was up early enough that there wasn’t much traffic, so the drive to the cemetery went quickly. “Hey, Dad,” she said as she leaned against the headstone her mom had picked out. “Sorry I haven’t been here for awhile.” She noticed the grass was starting to grow in, and the tree Maggie had asked for was supposed to be planted next week. 

Zoey sat alone, talking aloud for quite some time. She didn't have enough energy to care about looking crazy for talking to herself. She told her dad about all the progress she’d been making on the Chirp and she told him about every little thing Ben had been doing—especially how weird it had been to see David resemble Mitch as he became a dad. “And, uh, that guy? Simon,” she said, “he officially asked me to be his girlfriend on Saturday and I said yes.” Zoey hadn’t said the word ‘girlfriend’ out loud yet; she was still trying to decide how it made her feel. 

She had been at the cemetery for a couple of hours, and was thinking that it was maybe time to head home to get ready for the dinner Maggie expected her at, when Max walked up. “I thought I’d find you here,” he said. He placed a 12 pack of Grainbelt Nordeast, Mitch’s favorite, down next to her and then joined her on the ground. 

Her eyes immediately went to Max’s hand: a few of his knuckles were still broken open from his fight just three days prior. They hadn’t seen each other since, but Max had text Zoey apologizing the next day. “Is your hand okay?” Zoey asked as she cracked open a bottle. “Can we please just pretend that night never existed?” Max said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but subconsciously rubbed his fingers. Zoey wished she could, but she still had to find a way to tell Max she had accepted Simon’s proposal. She hadn’t wanted to tell him over text, but now in person, it seemed worse. 

Instead of answering, she clinked her beer to Max’s. “Do you remember the first time you met my dad?” She asked. He seemed grateful for the subject change. “It must’ve been at one of your parent’s barbecues, right?” Max said. “Yeah,” Zoey replied, “I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life.” 

She told Max that he’d met her parents just a couple of weeks after starting at SPRQ Point. Her parents wanted to try out their new smoker, so they told the kids to come over for some ribs. David and Emily had just started dating, and Zoey didn’t want to be the awkward 5th wheel, so she brought Max along.  “I was in the kitchen getting another glass of wine and my dad came in. David, my mom, everybody was so sure that I had a massive crush on you, but my dad just said ‘he’s nice, that one.’ and nodded toward you in the backyard talking to Mom about flowers or musicals or something,” Zoey said, “I don’t know why I remember that moment so clearly, but it’s been playing over in my mind a lot lately.” 

Max smiled at her. “I remember that day,” he said. “When I was about to leave, your dad called me over and brought me to the guest bedroom with all the books and handed me a copy of No Laughing Matter by Joseph Heller and Speed Vogul. I don’t know what made him think I’d like it, but now it’s one of my favorite books. I found the copy a few years ago and tried to give it back to him, but he told me to keep it.” 

Zoey had started crying during Max’s part of the story and tried to wipe her tears away before he noticed. “I’m sorry,” she said when he gave her a soft smile. “I know I need to start moving on…” “You don’t have to do anything,” Max said. “No judgement from me.” 

**_Barefoot and a bottle of wine, you can stay with me tonight_ **

**_You don’t have to change when I’m around you,_ **

**_So go ahead and say what’s on your mind._ **

**_When you’re with me, no judgement_ **

**_You can get that from anyone else_ **

**_You don’t have to prove nothing_ **

**_You can just be yourself_ **

**_When you’re with me, no judgement_ **

Zoey couldn’t help but smile even through the tears. Her powers were still a struggle sometimes, but they also made her appreciate all the people in her life even more. Max continued singing, swaying to the beat: 

**_I’ll get us breakfast in the morning, or you can slip out in the night_ **

**_You don’t have to give me a warning, ‘cause we both got nothing to hide_ **

**_Even though we didn’t talk for a couple of months, it’s like we didn’t lose any time_ **

**_I can be your lover or your shoulder to cry on, you can be whoever you like_ **

**_When you’re with me, no judgement_ ** . 

“Max, I have to tell you something,” Zoey said when he finished. She was still crying but trying not to. “I, uh, Simon and I are officially dating now. I didn’t know how to tell you, but-” She was thankful when Max interrupted her. “That’s great, Zoey. I really am happy for you,” he said as if forcing himself to say the right thing. “I told you I’d be here however you need me and I know I didn’t really hold up that promise for awhile, but if what you need is someone to show up with beer when you are feeling your ugly, sad, hard, feelings you don’t want to share with anybody else, I’ll do that. I’ll be your shoulder.” 

Zoey knew that it wasn’t what Max wanted, but she was thankful that he was still her best friend. “Can I say one thing, though?” he asked. “Anything,” she said, already assuming the worst. “Why isn’t he here being your shoulder?” “I, uh, didn’t tell him that dad’s birthday was today,” Zoey said. “I didn’t even tell him I wasn’t going to work until he texted this morning asking where I was.” “You should tell him, Zo,” Max said softly. She knew he was right. 

* * *

Simon stopped his car in front of the Clarke family home. “Thanks for inviting me tonight, Zoey,” he said. She’d called him when he was done at work and admitted it was her dad’s birthday. Simon had shown up at her apartment an hour later, flowers in hand. “I didn’t have time to assemble a grief trunk,” he said. “So I figured flowers and a hug would have to do the trick.”  Between the beers Max had brought and the hugs from Simon, Zoey was feeling better than she’d expected to that day. Seeing her smiling nephew when she and Simon had walked in the door hadn’t hurt her mood, either. 

“You all remember Simon,” Zoey said as a way of greeting. She wasn’t quite sure how to tell her family they had begun dating officially, but the look in their eyes as they greeted him said they knew Zoey bringing him to Mitch’s birthday dinner was serious. 

Maggie, David, Emily, Ben, Zoey, and Simon had a nice dinner on the table in the backyard. Conversation was more stilted than normal, and Zoey tried to blame it on the heavy topic of the first real “family dinner” since her dad had died and not the fact that every story needed a little extra explanation for Simon or that most ended in awkward topic: Max bringing over Hand-Picked pudding for Mitch or the flower wall Maggie had made for Simon and Jessica’s engagement dinner. 

After dinner, everyone sat around with a glass of wine and played with Ben, passing him from person to person. David and Emily showed more cute videos and photos of some of his “firsts.” The mood was happy, light when suddenly Maggie got up and headed to the kitchen. Everyone could feel her pain as she left. “Should I go?” Zoey asked David. Simon stood up instead. “I’ve got it.” 

“My mom got married in Vegas a few months ago,” Simon said as he approached Maggie, “and I wasn’t very happy about it at first.” Maggie wiped her eyes and cleared her throat as she looked to Simon, waiting for his story to continue. “Your beautiful daughter in there encouraged me to go, so I did, and I actually had a really good time. On my plane home, I started feeling really, uh… really guilty that I had such a good time celebrating my Mom when my Dad was still gone.” 

Maggie nodded, unable to respond but interested in what Simon had to say. “My dad, he was sick. Not in the same way Mitch was, but he was sick. And it took a minute and some deep self-reflection after, uh, after Mitch died actually, but I knew my father would not want me to stop living my life, would not want my mom to stop living her life, because he wasn’t here to do the same. Now I didn’t know Mitch, but from what I do know, he would be so happy that your grandson brings so much joy to your life. And I know that it’s easier said than done to move on from such a profound grief, but I just thought that if maybe you needed a sign that it was okay to feel happy when you’re playing with Ben, that I could be that sign.” 


	7. Zoey's Extraordinary Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey comes clean to Simon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong 1: Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac  
> Heartsong 2: Lyin' Eyes by the Eagles

Zoey fell into a routine; every day without her dad was hard, but each day the crushing weight on her chest was a little easier to ignore, a little easier to forget about if she kept busy. As he’d promised, Max had continued to be there for her and things were good with Simon. 

The longer they’d been dating, however, the more guilt she’d felt whenever she heard him sing a heartsong when she still hadn’t told Simon about her powers. For the most part she’d been able to push that guilt down, but she knew lying was starting to take its toll. 

It became especially clear one morning as she was walking to work and a stranger started singing Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac,

**_Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies,_ **

**_Oh no, no, you can’t disguise_ **

**_Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies_ **

**_Although I’m not making plans, I hope that you understand_ **

**_There’s a reason why, close your eyes_ **

**_No more broken hearts, we’re better off apart_ **

**_Let’s give it a try, tell me lies_ **

At first, she just assumed that they were having trouble with their own love life, but as the day went on that theory was harder and harder to believe. When she’d seen Leif, he broke out in song too: 

**_You can’t hide your lying eyes and your smile is a thin disguise,_ ** **_  
_ ** **_I thought by now you’d realize there ain’t no way to hide your lying eyes_ **

At lunch the cashier at the sandwich shop down the road sang her a country song she’d never heard, but assumed was called “White Liar” from the repetition; Tobin did a rendition of Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira she’d rather not relive; by the end of the day, Zoey estimated she’d heard 6 or 7 songs with the word “liar” in the title. 

While normally heartsongs reflected the feelings of the singer, Zoey was beginning to wonder if today the heartsongs were reflecting  _ her _ inner thoughts. She knew she had to do something about it.

* * *

“Cheesequakes!” Simon said as he walked into Zoey’s apartment, “What did I do to deserve such a treat?” After a long day of lying songs and a conversation in which Mo did his thing and gave Zoey some much needed advice, she knew she needed to come clean with Simon about her powers. 

“I, uh, have something I need to talk to you about,” Zoey said, settling into the couch with her Cheesequake and looking over at Simon, who was waiting patiently for her confession. “I know this is going to sound insane,” she started, “and I know that it is going to be hard for you to believe, and I understand if you can’t, uh, handle it.” “Spit it out, Zoey,” Simon said, getting more anxious with every word she said. 

“Okay, but can you promise to let me get it all out first before you ask questions or react?” She asked. “Sure,” he said. “I can do that.” “Okay, so…” Zoey launched into her explanation, getting sidetracked and going on tangents, but explaining everything to Simon the best she could. How she’d been worried she had the same disease as Mitch, how after the MRI people just started singing their innermost thoughts, how that’s how she had been able to read Simon so well and knew whenever something was bothering him. 

“So, turns out it wasn’t some secret insane bond that brought us together, it was my magical super power,” she said. Simon remained quiet for a minute. “Are you done?” he asked finally. Zoey nodded. “Wow,” he said. “Uh, that is not what I was expecting. Who else knows?” “Mo and Max and a random woman I ran into at the grocery store late one night who probably assumed I had schizophrenia,” Zoey answered. 

“Not your family?” he asked. “No, at first I didn’t tell them, because, well, it sounds crazy. And then I didn’t tell them because I selfishly liked that I was the one who could tell what was going on in my dad’s head, and then… well, it didn’t seem to matter much once he was gone whether they knew.” Simon nodded, but was still pretty quiet. Zoey didn’t quite know Simon well enough to have a guess at how he was going to respond, but his reaction was much calmer than she’d anticipated. 

“So what other songs have I sung to you?” he asked, “besides Mad World?” “Wait,” Zoey said, “you’re not, like, mad? That I never told you? And you just… believe that I have a weird magic super power that gave me access to your thoughts for months?” Simon chuckled. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. This is crazy. And I’m sure, ya know, as I process it in the coming days I might have more questions, but listen… that first day with the Cheesquakes when I told you it was a real miracle that we’d found each other? I still think that’s true,” Simon said. “And you may not have been completely honest with me about everything, but I am happy with how things are. You heard my thoughts, and you used that knowledge to help me. I can’t really justify being mad about that.” 

Zoey breathed a sigh of relief she hadn’t known she had been holding onto. Then she launched into a recap of all the songs she’d heard Simon sing, and some of her other personal favorites from others. “Today I heard Tobin sing Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira,” she said laughing. “Oh, now I would pay good money to see that,” Simon said. 

Encouraged by his response to her powers, Zoey decided to come clean about the one last thing Simon still didn’t know. “You up for one last, uh, confession?” Zoey asked. “What, did your last x-ray give you the ability to see through walls too?” Simon said with a laugh. “Uh, no,” Zoey said. “I, um. The night that my father died, Max and I kissed.” 

Simon flinched; he stayed quiet for a long time so Zoey did too. “I thought you said you refused to be a homewrecker?” Simon said finally. “What?” Zoey questioned. “All those months ago, when I was with Jessica, you came into my office and you told me that you refused to be a homewrecker. And then I saw you with Max and got jealous, and you told me there was no reason to be, but then you kissed him LATER THAT NIGHT? How does that make any sense?” Simon said, his voice getting a little louder with every word. 

“Listen, Simon,” Zoey started. “That’s not fair and you know it. You were engaged to Jessica, and we weren’t even officially together when I kissed Max. My feelings were—maybe still are—messy and I am not going to apologize for that.” Simon stood up and said “Then I’m not going to apologize for leaving.” 


	8. Zoey's Extraordinary Babysitting Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey needs help when babysitting Ben so she calls her main man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi

While Zoey and Simon had technically made up a few days after their fight about Max, almost a month later things were still a bit tense. Conversation didn’t flow quite as easily as it used to; Zoey found that she felt like she had to justify any of the conversations or plans she had with Max. 

The only time they seemed to be on the same wavelength was when they were talking about their grief, and as much as Zoey missed her dad—as much as she would  _ always _ miss her dad—sometimes she wished their date conversation could tend to movies or music instead of suicide and nuerodegenerate disease. 

One night, Zoey and Simon were having pizza with Maggie, David, Emily, and Ben and Simon mentioned that he and Zoey had gone to Madcap last weekend. “Oh, I looooove their scallops so much,” Emily said gesturing to Ben. “This adorable little tapeworm makes it impossible to go to fancy restaurants.” “How about we take Ben for a little play date tomorrow after work,” Zoey said, “you guys can start your weekend off with a nice meal!” 

“Oh, I don’t know, Zoey,” David said quietly. “Come on! You guys have hardly had any date nights over the last couple of months,” she responded to her brother. “Look at this beautiful son of yours! He deserves to have parents who are happy. Go be happy with your scallops for a night; I need some time with my nephew.” David and Emily looked at each other and nodded. 

* * *

The next day at work, Simon came over to Zoey’s desk and said “So, bad news. Joan gave my team a big ‘ol project for the chirp this morning and I think I’m going to have to stay late to get it done by the time she needs it, so I won’t be able to help you with Ben tonight.” “No problem,” Zoey said honestly. “Feel free to stop by whenever you’re done if you want. I’m picking Ben up on my way home and I told them I’d keep him for the night because apparently I care about my brother’s sex life.”

* * *

“Max!” Zoey said as soon as she heard his phone answer the call, even before he'd had the chance to say hello, “Max, please come to my apartment, I need you.” “Well, hello to you too, Zoey,” he answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. At that moment, Ben screamed again and Max knew why she was calling. “I’ll be over in 15,” he said. Zoey could hear the smile in his voice. 

When Max got to her apartment, he knocked and waited, and waited, and waited. He knocked again, and then decided to just walk in. “Zoey?” he called out, trying his best to be heard over the screaming baby. He walked into the living room, and saw his best friend, hair in a mess and shirt wet and stained with what Max assumed was Ben’s formula. “Are we okay in here?” Max asked. “Max, thank god,” Zoey said. “I can’t get him to stop crying. Everything was going great and we were having a grand old time. I read him a couple books, and we played peakaboo, and I showed him pictures of my dad, but then I had to change his diaper. And that was fine at first too, until I ran out of wipes and had to grab more, and when I got back that little shit PEED on me. His tiny little baby penis just shot off like a fountain. And I didn’t have time to change because then he started crying and I thought he was hungry so I warmed up his bottle, and that stopped his tears for, like, half a minute but then he spit up all his formula all over my shirt so now it has pee and baby vomit and-”

Max couldn’t help but laugh. Zoey was so frantic, and her apartment was such a mess. “Maxwell it is  _ not _ funny,” Zoey shrieked. He walked over to her and took Ben, swaying him back and forth for only a minute before Ben stopped crying. He placed his little hand on Max’s face and broke out in a big smile. “You go shower,” Max said. “The baby vomit got in your hair too. Uncle Maxie and Ben got it covered out here. Have you eaten yet?” Zoey breathed a sigh of relief. “How did you get him to stop crying? And no… I’m starving but I was a little… preoccupied.” “Babies just love me,” Max said with a smile, “I’ll order takeout. But please go shower; don’t take this the wrong way, but you smell. Badly.” 

When Zoey left the bathroom, she was amazed by the sight of her apartment. When she had left Max and Ben, there were clothes and toys and the contents of Ben’s diaper bag strewn across her entire living room, but now it was spotless and Max was sitting on the coach with Ben in his arms, reading him one of the Little Feminist board books from the set Zoey had picked up on her way to pick Ben up. “How’re my favorite boys?” she asked, joining them on the couch. “We’re great,” Max said. “Delivery will be here in a few!”

* * *

Simon knocked on the door to Zoey’s apartment and entered when he heard a soft “Come in!” “Hey, babe,” he said as he walked into the living room, “oh, and Max. Hey, man.” They were both on the couch, watching the end of the Warriors game. “Where’s Ben?” Simon asked, sliding onto the floor next to Zoey, using the couch as a backrest. “Just fell asleep an hour or so ago,” Zoey answered. The three of them awkwardly watched the end of the game as Max listed off random stats he’d learned at his job. When the game was over, Max said goodbye and left Simon and Zoey alone. 

“So, did Max just stop by?” Simon asked eventually. “Uh, no, I called him when I was having trouble getting Ben to calm down earlier,” Zoey said. “His brother has a son and a daughter so he’s good with kids and I didn’t want to disrupt you at work.” Zoey knew it was a weak excuse, and she assumed Simon did too—it wasn’t a secret that it’d been awhile since Max had seen his family. “You know I would’ve dropped everything to help you if you needed it,” Simon said. 

“Yeah, I know…” Zoey answered honestly. Neither of them knew what to say. “What are we doing Zoey?” Simon finally asked. “I mean, we’ve been together for what? Almost two months now? And neither of us even realized we passed our first anniversary. I used to think that all of the things we’ve both been through meant we were meant to be together, but… maybe, uh, maybe we were just meant to be friends,” Simon said. “Friends,” Zoey said tentatively. “Yeah,” Simon continued, “friends who help each other with dad stuff, friends who work together, friends.” 

Zoey didn’t know what to say, but she knew Simon was right. “Turns out that a relationship built on shared grief and musical powers isn’t the best foundation for a happy, healthy relationship,” Zoey said. “But, Simon... You’re  _ so _ hot. Like, so insanely hot.” They both laughed and returned to silence, unsure of what to do next. 

“There’s one more thing I have to tell you,” Zoey told him to break the tension, “The first time we had sex, you sang ‘I Just Had Sex’ by The Lonely Island.” “I did not,” Simon said, the look on his face a mix of anguish and embarrassment. “You did.” 

Simon slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up, “Well, now we have to be just friends, because I could never  _ ever _ have sex with you again without being immediately embarrassed and terrified that song would happen again.” He started walking toward the door and then she heard the first notes of a heartsong. 

**_I fell by the wayside like everyone else_ **

**_I hate you, I hate you, I hate you but I was just kidding myself_ **

**_Our every moment, I start to replace_ **

**_‘Cause now that they’re gone, all I hear are the words that I needed to say_ **

Simon was dancing around her apartment, and Zoey almost wanted to join him. 

**_When you hurt under the surface like troubled water running cold_ **

**_Well, time can heal but this won’t._ **

**_So, before you go, was there something I could’ve said to make your heart beat better?_ **

**_If only I’d have known you had a storm to weather._ **

******_So, before you go, was there something I could’ve said to make it all stop hurting?_ **

**_It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless._ **

**_So, before you go_ **

He slowed his dance and continued walking toward the door. “Simon,” Zoey said, “Before you go, I just want you to know… There was nothing you could’ve done to change this outcome. We just… we both have to weather our own storms for awhile, I think.” “Did I sing you another heartsong?” he asked. She nodded and smiled, but knew there was nothing else to say. “I’ll see you at work on Monday?”


	9. Zoey's Extraordinary Barbeque

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey convinces Maggie to have a Clarke Family Barbecue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: I'll Be There For You by The Remembrandts

A few hours after Simon left, Ben woke up crying; this time, though, Zoey was able to rock him back to sleep after a quick bottle. After that, he only woke up once more and then again at 7 the next morning. Zoey was more than happy to wake up a couple times a night for her beautiful little nephew, but she was also happy to be able to give him back and get some uninterrupted sleep that night. 

Zoey had a pretty relaxed Saturday planned. After she dropped Ben off at Emily and David’s, she went over to help Maggie with her latest job; since she’d done Simon and Jessica’s flower wall, many people had been coming to her with similar ideas. This specific project was a wall of sunflowers to use as a backdrop for a baby shower, and she’d enlisted Zoey’s help. 

“This reminds me of that cabin Dad rented on the coast that one summer when David and I were young,” Zoey said as they worked. “I think we roasted marshmallows every night we were there.” Zoey was starting to get to the point that she could start talking about happy memories without immediately crying, but she saw that the story still brought tears to Maggie’s eyes. “That was a great summer,” her mom said quietly. 

“Dad would be so bummed if we stopped doing all of the things he loved,” Zoey said. “What do you think about having a little backyard barbeque tomorrow?” “That sounds like a great plan,” Maggie said, trying to force herself to smile. “Great!” Zoey said, “I’ll invite Max and tell David, anybody else we should invite?” 

“Well, you, Simon, Max, David, Emily, and Ben makes for a pretty small group, I could invite Howie and a few of our other friends. I haven’t seen most of them for a couple of months.” “Actually, uh… Simon and I broke up,” Zoey said. “Why?” Maggie asked, clearly concerned. “I don’t really want to talk about it,” Zoey said, “but I’m okay, Mom.” Zoey often told little fibs to try to spare her mom’s feelings, but she really was okay this time. 

* * *

On her way home, Zoey called Max. “Please tell me you don’t need saving again,” Max said as a way of greeting, “your nephew is super cute and all, but I’m in the middle of binging the Harry Potter movies and I’m just about through the one where they all need haircuts so I don’t want to quit now.” 

“No saving needed, Benjamin is safely back under his parent’s care. I was just calling to tell you that my Mom is having a little barbeque tomorrow and it wouldn’t be a Clarke family party without you,” Zoey said. “That sounds great!” Max responded immediately. “Perfect, will you be able to finish your binge by Noon tomorrow?” she asked. “You insult me, Clarke,” he said, and hung up.

* * *

Zoey was curled up on her couch, still in pajamas and scrolling through social media while drinking a steaming cup of coffee when she heard a knock on her apartment door. She got up and crossed the room, unlocking the door and opening it to find Max. “What are you doing here so early?” she asked, “I thought I remembered to tell you it didn’t start until noon.” “I knew you’d be busy making your dad’s favorite salad, so I thought I’d come help. I also brought stuff to make my famous chocolate chip cookies since I know how much your mom loves them.” 

“I’ll never turn down your cookies,” Zoey said, inviting him in, “but I need to finish my coffee first. There’s more in the pot if you need a cup.” As Zoey navigated back to her couch, Max went to the kitchen to drop off the ingredients he knew Zoey wouldn’t have in her bare bones kitchen and grabbed “his” mug before joining her in the living room. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes; Max was the one person Zoey didn’t mind sharing silence with—it was more like being alone together than feeling awkward together. “So, um,” Zoey said, deciding she wanted to get the elephant only she knew was in the room out, “Simon and I broke up.” Zoey waited a second for Max to respond, but instead he jumped up so that he was standing on the couch and sang, 

**_So no one told you life was gonna be this way_ **

Zoey wasn’t a huge FRIENDS fan, but she couldn’t help but clap along. 

**_Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s D.O.A_ **

_Well, at least he was wrong about the job part,_ she thought to herself. 

**_It’s like you’re like you’re always stuck in second gear,_ **

**_When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year_ ** ,

He wasn’t wrong; it really, really hadn’t been her year.

**_But I’ll be there for you—when the rain starts to pour._ **

Zoey was surprised when Max sang both parts. Heartsongs were tough business when you were alone in an apartment with nobody to be your backup singer.

**_But I’ll be there for you—like I’ve been there before._ **

Zoey knew, once again, that he wasn’t wrong; Max was alway there, showing up for her. Following her Dad’s funeral, when she’d gotten stressed about being back at work, even after she’d started dating Simon he was there whenever she needed him. 

**_I’ll be there for you—’cause you’re there for me too._ **

“I hope I am,” she whispered as he stopped singing and resumed his spot on the couch next to her. She looked at him and saw he was trying to decide what to say. “You don’t have to say anything, I know you’ll uh,” Zoey said, and then she broke out into a small song of her own, “be there for meeeee.” Max smiled at her, “really?” he asked, “I sang FRIENDS?” 

Zoey made her salad while Max made his cookies, moving around each other in an easy rhythm despite her small kitchen. When Max put the last pan in the oven, Zoey asked “are you good to finish up this last batch if I go take a quick shower?” “You got it,” Max said. Zoey appeared from the bathroom 20 minutes later dressed in a cream sundress sprinkled with pink flowers. Max smiled in her direction, but quickly looked away. “I can drop you off tonight if you want to, uh, ride together?” he said to the floor.

* * *

The small family barbecue had turned into quite the affair; there was food, alcohol, and people everywhere. Along with all the Clarkes and Max, Howie and his daughter, who’d just gotten back from Kenya, a few of Mitch and Maggie’s friends, some neighbors, and even Mitch’s friend Paul had come.“Now I know that Mitch loved a live band,” Howie said as everyone sat around a fire, “but, I think he’d love even more if he could look down on all of us dancing.” 

Zoey expected Maggie to be the first one to decline, but instead she set down her glass of wine, plugged her phone into the speaker, and grabbed Howie’s hand to start dancing to the ABBA song that started playing. Something about the 70s pop music made every last one of the older adults up and moving. “That’s, uh, something,” David said with a look of horror; Zoey wondered what he’d say if he was able to witness his own heart songs. “Maybe, we need to go check on Ben,” Emily said as if the baby monitor right in front of them didn’t show a still sleeping Ben. 

When they quickly snuck off into the house, Max and Zoey were alone around the fire. “Do you, uh, want to dance?” Zoey asked him. Max looked over at her with just the corner of his mouth turned up in the slightest smirk, and then stood up and extended his hand to her. They joined the dance floor as Come On Eileen came on. Zoey couldn’t help but laugh at the horrible job she and Max were doing; she was having fun, but couldn’t say she was disappointed when Power of Two by the Indigo Girls came on next. 

She and Max slowed, falling into each other’s arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her arms found their way around his neck and they swayed back and forth in an easy step. Max hummed along to the beat. “Is there any song you don’t know?” Zoey asked, barely audible and she felt Max’s chest move with a little chuckle as she laid her head against his chest.

* * *

Max stopped his car in front of Zoey’s apartment. “Do you want to come up?” she asked him. “Ah, no,” he said, “it’s getting late and I have an early morning at the office.” “Right,” Zoey said, trying to hold the disappointment in her voice and then wondering why she was disappointed at all. She looked over at him and he was looking right in her eyes. She watched his eyes drift down to her lips, and then—as if there was a magnet pulling them there—her eyes drifted down to his lips, too. 

Max’s lips looked softer than they had before; she’d watched them smile thousands of times, but now that she knew what they felt like against hers she physically couldn’t pull her eyes away from them. She leaned in and felt Max lean in slightly too, but then his hands were on her shoulders and he pushed her away. “I can’t, Zo,” he whispered, and he pulled away from her completely and stared straight ahead. “Goodnight.”


	10. Mo's Extraordinary Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mo throws Eddie a homecoming party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: Honey I'm Good by Andy Grammar

Zoey knew she had made a mistake when she’d leaned in to kiss Max—not because she hadn’t wanted to kiss him, but because of what she knew he’d thought. Zoey knew Max well enough to know that in his eyes, she’d just been rebounding with him that night. She knew she had made him feel like a second choice, and she knew that he wasn’t wrong for feeling that way. 

Zoey was emotional that night and she was a little bit drunk. And all her feelings for Max had been tied up with her grief. She had spent the day with Max and had felt her father’s love surrounding her for every minute of it and part of her felt like being with Max would give her a little piece of her dad back. The heart was a messy place, and Zoey’s heart was messier than most. 

But after the night that she and Max had almost kissed, she knew she had to make a change. It was harder said than done—she continued to find herself letting her eyes linger on Max’s lips a second too long and she had several dreams that would receive a range of rankings from the motion picture association’s film rating system—but she didn’t want to lead her best friend on, especially not when she wasn’t even sure if he was even feeling the same way anymore. 

She knew she’d been wishy washy with Max, but she made a decision to put a stop to it. For the next several weeks, she prioritized her friendship Max and made a conscious effort to keep things  _ strictly friendly _ . During movie night, she was sure not to accidentally slouch into him; whenever they grabbed a meal together, she’d tried to suggest places to which she was more likely to bring her mom and not her significant other. And she made sure to never, ever put herself in a position where she was slow dancing to the Indigo Girls while her head laid on her best friend’s chest. 

Leaning less on Max for emotional baggage, Zoey had turned more and more to Mo when she was feeling her ugly, sad feelings in order to try and spare Max from having to move past the things-people-who-are-just-your-friends do. One night Zoey was having a hard time, and instinctually pulled her phone out to text Max, but erased what she’d begun typing and walked across the hall to Mo’s. 

“Honey, I can tell you’re in a bad mood,” Mo said as Zoey plopped down on the couch, “and I am truly sorry but Eddie just called and said he’s going to be back home tomorrow, so you better work through those feelings quickly because you WILL be happy at his Homecoming party tomorrow night.”

* * *

Eddie’s homecoming party was at a bar a few blocks from SPRQ Point, and Zoey knew she was going to be working late, so she brought her dress and makeup so she could get ready in the bathroom and head over so she could Lyft home if she had too much to drink. When she’d finished getting ready, she left the bathroom and Tobin and Leif were just outside the door clearly waiting for her. “Ready to go, Z-Dawg?” Tobin said. “Uh, excuse me?” “To Eddie’s party—are you ready?” Leif answered. 

“You guys are coming to Eddie’s party?” she asked, “can, I, um, ask why?” “We’ve hung out with Mo several times, Zoey,” Leif said, “Just because  _ you _ don’t have a social life to invite us to doesn’t mean our calendars aren’t booming with appointments.” The three of them left the office and walked to the bar together. 

“Let me get ya a drink, Zo-diac,” Tobin said when they walked in. “Whiskey sour, please,” she said with a smile. “You good to grab the drinks, I see Mo’s ponytail in the corner so I want to go say hi,” Zoey asked. “Yep, be over in just a hot sec,” Tobin responded. Leif followed him to the bar as Zoey maneuvered her way to group.

“Eddie!” she said as chipper as she could muster, still feeling a bit down. “Welcome home, friend! How were the big bad seas?” “Zoey, you made it!” Eddie responded as he hugged her, “Mo wasn’t sure you’d come.” “I couldn’t miss your homecoming!” she smiled. Mo was in deep conversation, so she made her way over to where Max was talking to someone she didn’t recognize. “Maxie boy,” she said with a smile. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiles. 

Another smile was plastered on her face when Tobin walked over and handed her the drink, “The best whiskey they’ve got & a house squeezed sour mix, my lady,” he said. Max’s eyes went wide and if Zoey didn’t know better she’d think he looked almost  _ jealous _ of Tobin. “Thank you!” she said to Tobin, and turned back to Max. “How was work?” she asked.

“Uh, work was fine. What was  _ that _ ?” he asked, “are you dating  _ Tobin _ ?” Tobin had already moved on to greeting Mo and a few others. “What? No!” Zoey squealed, a little blush staining her cheeks—not because she actually liked Tobin, but because she couldn’t even fathom the idea of dating anybody right now except for maybe the one person in front of her.  _ You're just friends _ , she reminded herself. 

Max was still probing her. “Look, if you’re going to be this weird about it you can just take the drink,” she said, offering it to him. Instead of taking the drink, Max started clapping his hands as he sang, 

**_Nah nah, honey I’m good,_ **

**_I could have another but I probably should not,_ **

**_I’ve got somebody home._ **

“What!?” Zoey couldn’t help but say. 

**_It’s been a long night here, and a long night there_ **

**_And these long, long legs are damn near everywhere,_ **

**_Hold up now, you look good, I will not lie,_ **

**_But if you ask where I’m staying tonight I gotta be like,_ **

**_Oh, baby, no baby, you got me all wrong baby, my baby’s already got all my love_ **

**_So nah nah, honey i’m good_ **

Zoey knew she was supposed to respond in some way when somebody sang a heartsong, but she had to get out of there; she didn’t have the music knowledge that Mo did, but everybody knew that Andy Grammar song and she could not hear about how somebody else had captured all of Max’s love. She ran for the bathroom. 

Mo must’ve followed, because when she slowed he said “What’s got your panties all in a bunch?” “Max just sang me a heartsong,” Zoey said, “and I think he’s got a new girlfriend.” “And you’re… not happy?” Mo asked. “No,” Zoey said and tried to blink away the tears in her eyes. Zoey was surprised when Mo gave her a hug; neither of them were overly touchy, feely people, so despite being friends for a long time now, Zoey could count the number of times they’d hugged on one hand. 

Mo handed her a few bills and said “There’s a delicious ice cream shop just around the corner. Go get some and go home. The homecoming party will probably take my and Eddie home soon anyway if you know what I mean.” “Thank you,” Zoey whispered and headed toward the door.

* * *

“Maxwell Richman,” Mo said as he crossed the bar toward him. “Friends,” Max was muttering, “friends, friends, friends.” “MAXWELL RICHMAN,” Mo said louder. “Oh, hey Mo… uh,” Max said, “I can’t believe we’ve been friends for all these months and I don’t know your last name.” “My last name is  _ not _ what’s important right now,” Mo answered, “do you have a new lady friend in your life?” 

“What?” Max asked, shock and confusion on his face, “No?” “Well you went and sang Zoey some heartsong that made her think so,” Mo said honestly, too excited about the night he had planned with Eddie to beat around the corners. “Oh…” Max said quietly, looking down. “Spit it out, Max,” Mo said. 

“I, uh, a few weeks ago Zoey and I almost kissed,” Max said, “but I… I can’t go down that path again, not unless it’s… real. When she and Simon started dating, I did everything I could to keep my mind blank around her, but I wasn’t sure if that worked so, now every time I’m with her I do everything I can to keep my mind off of love, so at least if I sing I don’t sing love songs. I think of things she’s done that make me angry, I think of other people, I repeat the lyrics to the FRIENDS theme song in my head over and over so hopefully I’ll just sing that again…” Max sighed and looked down at his jeans. "That's probably why I sang a song about having a girlfriend that certainly does not exist." 

“It sure sucks when she can read your mind sometimes, huh?” Mo said. “It sure does.” 


	11. Zoey's Extraordinary Gesture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoey decides to lay it all out there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: XO by Beyonce

Zoey did everything she could to avoid Max after that night, which mainly meant throwing herself into her work. “D. to the O. to the N. aaaaand E.” Tobin said, jumping up and pointing to each of his coworkers: “T-Man beats ‘the best coder’, my boss, and her boss.” He, Leif, Joan, and Zoey had been working together on a particularly difficult part of the Chirp; once this part was done, there were only minute details left.

“My part was done ten minutes ago,” Leif said, though they all knew he was lying as he continued to type furiously. After another half an hour, they’d all wrapped up their pieces for the night. “Crazy where we’ve come from that first night at Simon’s engagement party,” Joan said with a small smile as they walked toward the elevator together. Zoey was glad to see that Leif smiled back at her earnestly. “Definitely,” Leif agreed, “from staying up all night to Max and I going up to the sixth floor and the bake-off.” 

“To you getting Max fired for sending me the code, which is funny now that he’s actually a big league with the Warriors,” Tobin said with a laugh. Everybody physically felt Zoey’s mood shift at the mention of Max. They all stopped laughing and the elevator was filled with an awkward silence. “Allllllright,” Tobin continued, “I’m just going to say it. Would you go and tell that man you love him already?” 

“ _ What? _ ” Zoey said looking at him. “Oh, come on, Zoey,” Leif said, “Tobin started an office poll literal years ago on when you two would finally get together.” “All of you?” Zoey said looking over at Joan. She put her hands up and said, “Don’t look at me, I lost immediately because I thought you were already dating at that point.” “This all makes me  _ extremely uncomfortable _ ,” Zoey said as the elevator opened up, “so on that super fun note, goodnight.” 

* * *

“What is this funk you’ve been in the last few weeks?” Mo asked Zoey when she threw herself down on the couch. Mo had his Beyonce playlist on and was dancing around the apartment while occasionally stopping to add paint to a canvas. “Get up and dance to Bey, maybe that will help.” 

“I am so not in the mood to dance,” Zoey said, voice muffled by the cushion her head was buried in. Love On Top faded out into XO and Mo immediately changed it. “Hey, why’d you skip that one?” Zoey asked, “That’s my favorite Beyonce song.” Mo had been taking it upon himself to educate Zoey on must-know songs, and XO was one of them that Zoey continuously found herself enthralled by. 

“I am not just going to let you sit here and continue to mope around about Max,” Mo said, “up. Formation is the perfect option to get your feels out with an interpretive dance.” “ _ Why  _ does  _ everyone _ keep saying that?” Zoey responded, still on the couch. “Zoey, please. I can read it on every inch of your face,” Mo said, and then a little softer added, “Can I ask why you haven’t just told him how you feel?” “We both know even if I say no you’ll ask anyway,” Zoey said, doing her best to avoid the actual question. 

They were both quiet. “I promise I am more stubborn than you are,” Mo said, “I’ve got all night.” “Okay, fiiiiiine,” Zoey said. “It’s just that since I first told him that I was dating Simon, the only heartsongs he’s sung have been about friendship or other women or… I uh, I just think that I lost my shot. I think I told him to get over me, that I only wanted his friendship, and I think he’s such a good friend that he listened.” 

Mo just laughs. “It’s not  _ funny _ , Mo,” Zoey said, throwing her head back dramatically. Mo put down the paintbrush that was in his hand and crossed the room to stand in front of Zoey. “That. Man. Loves. You,” Mo said, clapping his hands together as he said each word. “He did not go from singing ‘I Think I Love You’ to “all of me loves all of you’ in a matter of months just to give that all up because you weren’t ready for what he had to offer.” “He actually never got to the chorus,” Zoey said quietly. Tears started filling her eyes remembering that night. 

“Oh, no,” Mo said, “You don’t get to cry about this boy, not when you have another option.” “Last time I tried to kiss him he physically pushed me away from him, Mo!” Zoey said, “I can’t take that happening again.” “Look, I don’t have your coding skills so I can’t send you and Max some fake email saying there’s some science fiction convention or another happening to send you to the same location, but that man loves you, Zoey. Do you know why he sang you Honey I’m Home at Eddie’s party?” “Because nah, nah he was good without me,” Zoey said, “you’re literally just proving my point, Mo.” 

“No, he sang that song because every single time he’s been with you since you picked Simon he’s filled his head with any possible thing other than the actual feelings he had for you,” Mo said. Zoey’s head whipped to Mo’s to see if he was telling the truth, but she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Go on, then,” Mo said, gesturing to the door. “Can you help me with one thing first?”

* * *

Zoey knocked on Max’s door and waited; it was late, but she knew if she didn’t do this right this second, she’d lose her nerve. She knocked again. Max opened the door, dressed in linen joggers & an old faded t-shirt. He had a little stubble lining his jaw and his eyes were tired but focused on her. “Hi, Zo,” he said. Instead of responding, she pushed into his apartment and pushed play on the instrumental version of XO that Mo had helped her download onto her phone. 

**_Your love is bright as ever, even in the shadows_ **

**_Baby, kiss me, before they turn the lights out_ **

“Zoey…” Max whispered, shutting the door and following her slowly down the hallway. She turned to face him. 

**_Your heart is glowing and I’m crashing into you_ **

**_Baby, kiss me, before they turn the lights out_ **

**_Baby, love me lights out_ **

Zoey stepped closer to Max who seemed frozen in place. She tentatively reached her hand up and ran it along his jaw.

**_In the darkest night hour, I search through the crowd,_ **

**_Your face is all that I see_ **

Zoey’s mind was flooded with all of her darkest memories, and knowing how Max had been there for her during each of them gave her the power to keep singing despite how still Max had stayed, watching her carefully. Zoey altered the next line slightly:

**_I’ll give you everything,_ **

**_Baby, love me lights out_ **

Max drew in a sharp breath, and slowly let it out, moving a step closer to Zoey. He took a curl of her hair in his finger and let his hand hover on the side of her neck. 

**_We don’t have forever, oh baby, daylight’s wasting_ **

**_You better kiss me, before our time has run out_ **

**_Nobody sees what we see, they’re just hopelessly gazing_ **

**_Baby, take me, before they turn the lights out_ **

**_Before time our time has run out, baby, love me lights out_ **

“Zo,” Max whispered again. He’d closed the gap between them with a single step toward her. Zoey sang the chorus again, just inches from his face. He was barely breathing, and she wasn’t sure how she’d continued on, 

**_I love you like XO,_ **

**_You love me like XO,_ **

**_You kill me boy, XO,_ **

**_You love me like XO_ **

Zoey wasn’t able to finish the last lines of the song because Max’s lips were on hers. They moved together like it was what they were made to be doing. Max pulled back a second later. “Zoey,” he said out of breath, “what was that?” “You’ve sung me enough heartsongs,” Zoey said with a little blush staining her cheeks, “I, uh, thought it was my turn.” 

Max’s lips crashed into hers again, and soon she was in his arms as he walked them to his bed, lying her down slowly before kissing her again. Zoey’s phone rang a few minutes later. “Please don’t get that,” Max whispered. She let it go to voicemail.


	12. Zoey's Extraordinary Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Zoey and Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartsong: Black and White by Niall Horan

Max collapses onto his bed next to Zoey, both of them trying to catch their breath. Their legs were tangled and a thin layer of sweat made every inch of them that touched stick together. He kissed her neck just behind her ear. 

“Wow,” Zoey gasped. She chuckled a little. “Max,” she said quietly, “we just had  _ sex _ .” He leaned up on his elbow and looked at her, leaning up to kiss her again. “We just had sex,” he repeated quietly, running his fingers along her bare stomach. 

Zoey laughed. “Quit it,” she said, pushing his hand away slightly but lacing their fingers together before they got too far, “that tickles.” Max brought their hands up to his mouth, kissing hers and then settling them both back down onto her stomach—rubbing his thumb back and forth on hers like it was a bad habit. He was quiet. 

“Max, this might just be my always-expecting-the-worst-case anxiety… but, uh, are you okay?” Zoey asked. He didn’t answer for another minute. “I have to know what, uh, what this means, Zo,” he said. “What do you mean?” she asked. 

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job at handling all of your… _youness_ ,” Max said, “But Zo, I don’t think I am ever going to be able to go back to being just your friend again. Not now.” Zoey sat up and took her hand out of his. Then she placed each of her hands on each side of Max’s face and forced him to look into her eyes. “I’m all in, Max,” she said. “All in?” “All in.” She reached her lips up to his and kissed him again. 

Max and Zoey got up and cleaned up; Max went out to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water and saw that Zoey had put on one of the button up shirts he’d discarded on his bedroom floor a few days ago. He stopped in his tracks. “That’s a good look on you,” he said, his voice lower than normal. “Really?” Zoey asked, “because I was kind of hoping you’d take it off me.” Max crossed the room faster than he’d ever moved before. 

After round two, Zoey and Max were laying in bed cuddling. “So, should I… go?” Zoey asked quietly. Max impulsively tightened his grip on her and said, “Don’t you dare try to move.” Their breathing started to slow. When Zoey’s breath had evened and Max thought she was asleep, he whispered “I love you, Zoey Clarke.” He was surprised when she said “I love you too, Max Richman” and leaned her head onto his chest before falling asleep.

* * *

Zoey and Max were walking up to her parent’s house a few days later when she stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait,” she said, “what do we tell them?” Max just looked at her with a crooked head and raised eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Tell my mom and brother that we are what we are,” she said, hands flailing. “Calm down,” Max said, “we’ll tell them whenever it comes up naturally. It’s not like we’re going to be making out over pizza and beer.” 

When they walked in the door everybody was already gathered around the kitchen counter grabbing food. “Hey guys,” Maggie said, “Pizza just got here, come get it while it’s hot!” Max started moving toward the boxes and grabbed a beer, but Zoey stayed where she was. She watched Max interact with her family and couldn’t help but blurt out, “MAX AND I ARE DATING.” “About time,” David said, grabbing his pizza and walking away without another word. 

“That’s nice, sweetie,” Maggie said, adjusting Ben onto her hip as she grabbed another slice to put on her plate before joining David and Emily at the table in the backyard. Zoey followed them shrieking, “Uh, I just told you I have a boyfriend and that’s all you guys have to say?” 

Max followed, joining the rest of the Clarkes at the table as Zoey paced. “Not, to um, burst your bubble,” Emily said, “but it’s not like we didn’t see it coming. I mean, he was there the night Mitch died, he was there the day Ben was born, he’s here on Clarke family pizza night, and he’s been here every mundane day in between.” 

Zoey got red in the face, and muttered “I’m gonna go grab my pizza.” Max got up, following her. “Can you believe them?” Zoey said in a huff when they were alone in the kitchen. She was still pacing back and forth. “Zoey,” Max said, grabbing her shoulders and steadying her, “you just called me your boyfriend.” His entire face was smiling. “Well, yeah,” she said sheepishly, “I thought that was just kind of a given, but uh-” She didn’t get to finish her thought because Max’s lips were on hers. 

* * *

A few months later, Zoey and Max were walking hand in hand through San Francisco on their way home after a date night when she heard a heartsong start; the heartsongs had  _ quickly _ resumed following her and Max’s first night together. 

**_That first night we were standing at your door,_ **

**_Fumbling for your keys, then I kissed you_ **

Zoey didn’t recognize the song, but she danced along with Max as he performed anyway.

**_Asked me if I want to come inside_ **

**_‘Cause we didn’t want to end the night_ **

**_Then you took my hand, and I followed you_ **

She was slightly confused why he was singing this song; it didn’t seem to fit their gradual progression from friends to lovers. 

**_Yeah, I see us in black and white_ **

**_Crystal clear on a starlit night_ **

**_In all your gorgeous colors_ **

**_I promise that I’ll love you for the rest of my life_ **

**_See you standing in your dress_ **

**_Swear in front of all our friends_ **

**_There’ll never be another_ **

**_I promise that I’ll love you for the rest of my life_ **

The old Zoey absolutely would have freaked out hearing somebody saying—or rather, singing— these words to her, but in this moment with Max she just smiled. During his performance, they had reached her apartment. When they settled into the couch with a couple glasses of wine, Max continued,

**_Now we’re sitting here in your living room_ **

******_Telling stories while we share a drink or two_ **

**_And there’s a vision I’ve been holding in my mind_ **

**_We’re 65 and you ask “When did I first know?”_ **

**_I always knew_ **

“I just sang you a heartsong, didn’t I?” he asked. Zoey nodded. He’d been getting better at picking up on the clues to having just sung to Zoey, but this time he didn’t have to look very hard: it was written all over her face. “Was it… a bad performance?” he asked, probing but not outright asking what was wrong. 

“No, it was actually one of your best,” she said with a sad smile. “I didn’t know the song, but it was… uh, lovely. I think it was maybe called ‘I see us in black and white’ or something” Max immediately looked embarrassed. “Look Zoey,” he started, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that, I know we just started dating and I don’t expect you to feel the same way and-”

Zoey cut Max off. “It wasn’t, uh, that,” she said. “It wasn’t that your song freaked me out. It was that, um, I realized that one day we’re going to get married and my dad won’t be there to walk me down the aisle.” “I told him, you know,” Max said, and when Zoey looked confused he continued, “the night he died when we first got to your parent’s house and you went into the kitchen while Howie was talking to you guys, I uh, went and sat with your dad for a few minutes.” 

Max glanced at Zoey, and she saw she was hanging on his every word. “I thanked him for always inviting me to join your family, and then I told him that I was in love with you and that I knew one day I would join the Clarkes officially and that I hoped he was alright with that—not that I was asking his permission because I know you’re your own woman and also we all know how much your dad loved me,” that part earned Max a small smile, “but because I knew I was going to marry you one day and I didn’t want to do that without him knowing.” 

Zoey set down her glass of wine and lunged into his arms, holding him tight. “You, sir, are the perfect man,” she said. Max gave her a smile that completely melted her heart, kissed her cheek and said, “aren’t you glad  _ I’m Yours. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!!


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